Hasta La Gadget!

While my wife and I were busy watching Once Upon a Time and The Walking Dead last night, it seems everyone else was watching The Grammys. Because of that, it seems we missed out on a commercial for the Nexus 4 that was everyone crowing about it this morning.

Google’s Nexus 4 commercial focused entirely on Google Now, which was introduced as a direct rival to Apple’s Siri. It also marked the first time an Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-powered device was featured in a commercial, giving those who don’t have the latest Android OS and don’t follow tech blogs a glimpse into what’s possible nowadays. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BlackBerry 10, Z10 Highlighted In New ‘Keep Moving’ Commercial, Samsung Teases ‘Next Big Thing’ While BlackBerry 10 Shows What It Can’t Do In Super Bowl Ads,

With home automation being all the rage these days, it was only a matter of time before Siri got her little, occasionally holier-than-thou claws into the action. All it took was YouTube user Elvis Impersonator, a Raspberry Pi, and enough trust in Siri’s goodness to believe she won’t devolve into a Hal 9000 wannabe. More »

With all the time, money, and embarrassment Apple has offered up on the altar of Siri, it’s only a logical next step to see the virtual personal assistant migrate over to Mac OS X.

The question is not if, but when?

And we may be getting closer, as Apple has listed a job posting looking for a Siri UI Engineer with a few hints at OS X integration.

This isn’t the first we’re hearing of a potential Siri rollout on the desktop level. In November, 9to5mac reported that Siri and Apple maps would be present in the next version of OS X.

The job listing calls for an engineer “responsible for implementing the content that appears within the conversational view.”

They call it a “broad-ranging task,” considering all the various applications Siri must interact with to be useful, and all while conserving the limited resources of mobile devices.

“We take every application that Siri interacts with, distill it down to fundamentals, and implement that application’s UI in a theme fitting with Siri. Consider it an entire miniature OS within the OS, and you get a good idea of the scope!” the listing reads.

Yet, nowhere in the job posting is there mention of iOS specifically. There is, however, mention of Mac OS X. Under key requirements, Apple asks for knowledge of all of Apple’s development APIs (both iOS and Mac OS X), as well as “familiarity with Unix, especially Mac OS X.”

Obviously, the listing is still very ambiguous, but it signals that Apple is beefing up Siri for something new. And as AppleInsider astutely notes, Dictation has already found its way onto the desktop (just like it did on the iPad before Siri showed up in tablet-form).

It all adds up, but we’ll have to wait on Apple’s word before we know for sure.

The push is on for many automakers to add new hands-free technology to their vehicles to help drivers keep their eyes on the road. Some automakers, such as Ford, have had hands-free communication systems and their vehicles allowing drivers to control certain functions using the voice for a long time. Other automakers have been slower to adopt such technology.

With the federal government now pushing to reduce distracted driving, automakers are rushing to add new technology to their vehicles. One of these new technologies is Apple’s Siri Eyes Free technology. We looked at the Siri Eyes Free system in the past in the Chevrolet Sonic. Automaker Honda has now announced that some its Honda branded vehicles and Acura vehicles will get Siri Eyes Free technology in 2013 models.

It appears that Honda’s adoption of this technology was last minute; support isn’t baked in as a factory installed option. Honda is offering Siri Eyes Free support as a dealer installed option on the 2013 Accord and on the Acura RDX and ILX models. Honda also says that later this year iPhone owners using iOS 6 or higher will be able to use Siri to perform a number of tasks in the vehicle.

Honda isn’t clear if these tasks are something special that it has cooked up or if these features are basic Eyes Free capabilities such as sending text messages, making phone calls, and playing music. Honda says that it has reengineered software and its vehicle infotainment systems to integrate Siri Eyes Free using its Bluetooth HandsFreeLink onboard microphone and speakers.

[via Honda]

Honda and Acura to take advantage of Apple Siri Eyes Free tech is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday we mentioned that Apple had released a new update for iOS bringing the operating system to version 6.1. The update brought a lot of new features to Apple devices. Fandango has announced that it has updated its movie ticket purchasing application to support the new operating system.

The update for the Fandango app brings an interesting new feature to devices running version 6.1. The app is now integrated with Siri allowing users to purchase tickets using their voice via the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch when running iOS 6.1. To use the new voice purchase feature, users push the Siri button and ask the virtual assistant to “Buy Tickets.”

Users can also ask Siri find a specific movie, nearby theaters, or specific show times. The app then gives users the option to purchase tickets. The app also allows the users to add their Paperless Mobile Tickets to Passbook so you can scan the screen of your iPhone or iPod Touch at the theater without having to bother printing tickets out.

Fandango also talks a bit about its success during 2012 with mobile ticket sales. The company reports that mobile sales were up 171% year-over-year accounting for over 30% of all Fandango ticket sales. Total downloads for the Fandango app across all platforms passed the 31 million mark. The app is currently one of the top 10 free entertainment the App Store According to Fandango.

[via Fandango]

iOS 6.1 update allows Siri to buy your movie tickets on Fandango is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.